Dolores Upton

Name: Dolores “Dolly” Cecilia Upton

Gender: Female

Age: 18

Grade: 12

School: George Hunter High School

Hobbies and Interests: Sewing, Lolita fashion, history, the occult, true crime media, yoga and meditation

Appearance: Dolores is somewhat tall and of average weight, standing at 5’9” and weighing 145 pounds. She is slim, with a bit of lean muscle, and most of her height is in her legs. She is Caucasian, tracing English ancestry on her father’s side and Eastern European on her mother’s. Her hair is mousy brown and naturally wavy, falling to her chest when worn loose; she habitually ties it up in pigtails, leaving her bangs to frame her face. She has a light olive skin tone and her eyes are light hazel and have a downturned shape. She has a diamond-shaped face, with a prominent nose, full lips, and slightly pointed ears.

Dolly dresses almost exclusively in a Classic Lolita style with light Gothic touches, most often in dresses and tights. When feeling more tomboyish, she wears “boystyle” short overalls or rompers, also often with leggings or tights and her preferred heeled boots. At school, she errs on the side of caution when it comes to the extravagance of her outfits and sticks to things which convey the kind of elegance that she strives for without being over the top enough to become a distraction; to those unfamiliar with Lolita subculture, Dolly's clothes are unusually old-fashioned and formal. Outside of school hours, she is more willing to be daring and experiment with her style, often piling on ribbons and lace as both accessories and accents, and occasionally borrowing from other Lolita types whose styles would be less appropriate for school. She makes or alters a lot of her own clothes, so some of her outfits bear home-made embroidering or patches and signs of her less skilled work are visible on older clothes. The main colors in her wardrobe are red and pink, and she tends towards muted shades over bright or pastel colors. Her ears are pierced once in the lobe and she has a wide variety of earrings, mostly small pendant earrings in various shapes. She has a rigorous skin care routine due to having an oily complexion and usually wears makeup. She keeps her fingernails manicured, usually with French tips.

On the day of the abduction, Dolores was wearing a knee-length, short-sleeved maroon dress with white ruffled trim on the skirt, white tights, and gray heeled ankle boots with decorative maroon bows. Her hair was styled in its usual pigtails, and she was wearing a pair of gold cross-shaped earrings and a gold necklace with a small pendant in the shape of an antique key. She was also wearing light pink eye shadow, mascara, and darker pink lipstick.

Biography: Dolores Upton was born on January 18, 2000, the eldest child of Christian and Dominika Upton. Her sister Petra is nine years younger than she is; the two of them generally get along and Dolores does not object to caring for her sister while their parents are busy, though she sometimes views Petra as a nuisance. Christian works as a civil engineer, while Dominika is primarily a stay-at-home mom and gives piano and singing lessons from their home.

Dolores and her sister had a fairly privileged upbringing. The Uptons managed their money well, and in addition to Christian’s income and the money that Dominika’s music lessons brought in, Christian’s parents left him a sizable inheritance and the family’s current home in the gated community of Frazier’s Glen when they passed on. For as long as she can remember, Dolores was in love with the old-fashioned aesthetic of her family’s house, and she aided Dominika in repairing and retouching some of the imitation antique-style furniture and decorations that came with it. Dominika also taught Dolores and Petra to sew from a young age, something that Dolores in particular enjoyed and often turned to when she had nothing else to do.

Dolores took well to elementary school, though she was a bit shy around rowdier kids. She proved to be a very capable student, and the suggestion was made that she be enrolled in classes for gifted students when possible, which her parents happily obliged. It was also around this time that most people began calling her Dolly; her parents had already called her that from time to time, and most other kids found it easier to remember and say than her full name. She dabbled in a few extracurricular activities throughout elementary school, most notably the school choir, which she remains a part of to this day as a soprano singer.

Throughout her childhood, the one thing that really plagued Dolly was a predisposition towards nightmares and other rarer incidents of somnambulist activity. Once or twice, her parents caught her sleepwalking, and she occasionally reported much more intense nightmares and episodes of sleep paralysis. Consultations with the family doctor revealed that there was little that could be done to prevent or ease Dolly’s night terrors when they occurred, though it was recommended that she be monitored for any further episodes of sleepwalking and the family was reassured that the incidents would most likely dissipate on their own. As promised, the serious incidents became less frequent as Dolly got older, though the occasional night terrors that still occur will leave her disoriented and panicked upon first waking. She experiences both auditory and visual hallucinations during episodes of sleep paralysis which leave her with feelings of dread and unease as well as preventing her from getting restful sleep until the incidents stop, leaving her edgy and irritable during these times.

Dolores maintained her good grades throughout school, and was always especially drawn to history, in part due to her mother’s and her own fondness for old-fashioned things. She was curious about the past and the people that lived in it and enjoyed reading personal accounts from people who had lived in different times over reading general history found in textbooks. Historical true crime stories especially fascinated her; to Dolly, true crime stories combined the excitement of a fictional drama with her own interest in history. She quickly found that it was difficult to express her interest in such without framing it very tactfully, and a few stumbling explanations of why she enjoyed hearing about things like Jack the Ripper or other famous crimes led some of her peers to find her interest creepy or weird. She tried not to be overly bothered by this, as it hadn’t driven away any of her established friends, but she did take care to better explain her fondness for true crime accounts as historical and academic over entertainment-based, though she certainly does derive entertainment from them as well. She prefers the historical side of things over more recent crimes, finding it more difficult to distance herself from things such as violent crime in the modern day and mass disasters or terrorism such as Survival of the Fittest. Those things are more disturbing than educational or entertaining to her, and she is aware that expressing interest in them would largely cross over the bounds of what is socially acceptable.

Dolly’s interests also led her to sometimes venture into occult research, looking into the history of things like witchcraft and demonic possessions. While she started doing some historical research on her own, some of her friends are more modern practitioners of spiritualism and witchcraft, and Dolly will often tag along with them on outings having to do with such, as she finds the atmosphere interesting and fun. She doesn’t really believe in the supernatural and mainly found it amusing to play around with things like Ouija boards and Tarot cards, but it didn’t help her reputation as someone that others found odd and sometimes off-putting. When not reading up on true crime, Dolores most often explores accounts of supposed supernatural or occult activity, and the two genres often overlap anyway. Like her fascination with crime, Dolly's interest in the occult is part academic and part entertainment; outside of research, she doesn't pursue anything having to do with the supernatural on her own, but she enjoys reading up on it.

While she was academically well-rounded, Dolly was never especially inclined towards more physical activity, and after she failed to perform well in a fitness test at the beginning of high school, her parents were concerned. Uninterested in sports, she opted to begin attending weekly yoga classes with her mother instead. This proved to be a good compromise, as she developed a bit of strength and flexibility that she had previously lacked without having to force herself into a more rigorous activity. Recently, she has also taken up meditation after trying out some guided sessions at the yoga center. She finds meditating to be a good way to unwind after school before starting on her homework, or to center herself when she is feeling stressed.

Dolores also tried her hand at making her own clothes once she started high school, starting with a simple dress pattern which she completed over a few weeks. Though her initial attempt was merely passable, she was pleased and kept practicing. As she started looking up inspiration and instructions online, Dolly was drawn to Lolita fashion; she found the style elegant and beautiful and began adding Lolita-style touches to the clothes that she made, as well as sometimes asking her parents to buy her accessories and clothes in the style for her birthday or holidays. Her parents never had any particularly strong opinion on Dolly’s fashion sense; they are happy that she can express herself through her hobbies and are content to let her dress however she likes as long as they don’t find it inappropriate. Currently, a lot of Dolores’s outfits are at least partially homemade, something she takes a lot of pride in. She wants to open an Etsy store to see if she could sell some of her designs, and if successful, she would like to consider launching her own line of Lolita clothing aimed at creating things for people her age at a more affordable price than many designers.

Academically, Dolly still does quite well. She personally favors the humanities and creative classes over math or sciences, but she doesn’t particularly struggle in any one area and her grades rarely drop below high B’s. Her only school-related extracurriculars are the school choir, as she has long enjoyed singing since Dominika’s musical inclinations were always a presence in their home, and the fashion club.

Socially, she has a close group of friends but few casual acquaintances. She dresses oddly, has unusual interests and a dry, morbid sense of humor, and her disposition makes her difficult to read if one isn’t familiar with her. Those who don’t share her interests or already want to become better acquainted with her usually keep their distance. She is rarely bothered by this thanks to her stable friend group, which includes her girlfriend Marceline Carlson. Dolores had never considered dating a girl before getting close to Marceline, and she still isn’t sure whether she is bisexual or if she is only attracted to Marceline, but she is happy with the way that things currently are and doesn’t feel the need to analyze it too deeply. Among her friends, she is often a mediator as her natural demeanor makes her good at keeping a cool head.

Dolly’s relationship with her family has always been good as well. Christian and Dominika are very supportive of her interests. They have been mostly supportive of her relationship with Marceline as well since Dolly admitted that she was dating a girl and introduced Marceline to them. Initially, Dominika was more ambivalent towards the situation than Christian, and there was some tension between her and Dolly over Dominika’s feelings on the matter. The tensions gradually faded over time, and both of Dolores’s parents have warmed up to Marceline and accepted that she and Dolores are committed to each other for the foreseeable future. The one thing which irks Dolly is that her parents have taken her relationship as an admission that she is a lesbian and generally disregard the possibility that she is bisexual whenever it gets brought up, as neither of them really understands the concept and both tend to boil orientation down to a duality of gay and straight. It is not a topic that Dolly is deeply interested in fighting over, however, and she most often lets the matter lie in order to keep things comfortable between them.

Petra looks up to her older sister and sometimes tries to imitate her style of dress and talking, though she doesn’t really understand some of the things that she repeats and has gotten both herself and Dolores scolded for some less appropriate comments and jokes. Dolores doesn’t mind looking after Petra when their parents are busy and often dotes on her, buying her treats after school and playing games with her in her free time, though the imitation and Petra’s desire for Dolly’s affection and attention does sometimes grate on her nerves.

Dolores chose to focus on applying to universities with distinguished fashion programs and has been accepted to the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, where she intends to double major in business and fashion design. She is both excited and nervous about traveling so far away from her home and family on her own for the first time, though Dominika does have some relatives in the New York area. Dolly generally feels that she has her life on track and headed where she wants it, though she does harbor occasional doubts about committing to a path too soon and ending up disappointed down the line. She wants to carry on her relationship with Marceline after they both graduate, but she doesn’t know if a long-distance relationship will work out. She worries about her friends’ futures as well as her own, particularly Marceline’s and whether Marceline will be able to find success as a musician if her band doesn’t stick together after high school. Dolly’s moments of doubt and anxiety tend to flare up when she has had difficulty sleeping or an episode of sleep paralysis or night terrors, and she is usually able to push past her worries the rest of the time. In general, she tries to be optimistic about the future and usually succeeds.

Advantages: Dolores has a calm disposition and is good at keeping a level head during stressful situations. She has good endurance and is a bit stronger than she looks thanks to her yoga practice. She can be hard to read, which will be helpful if she needs to conceal something from others.

Disadvantages: Dolores has a reputation for being somewhat creepy, which along with her morbid sense of humor may put others off and hurt her chances of making allies. She occasionally experiences intense night terrors, which lead to disorientation and panic upon waking; on very rare occasions, she sleepwalks, which could lead to her wandering into danger while not fully in control of herself.

Designated Number: Female student No. 023

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Designated Weapon: Bowie knife

Conclusion: I had to google what lolita fashion was so I'm going to be glad when this bitch breaks her ankle as soon as she tries to run. - Josie Knight

'The above biography is as written by backslash. No edits or alterations to the author's original work have been made.'

Evaluations
Handled by: backslash

Kills: None

Killed By: Blaise d'Aramitz

Collected Weapons: Bowie knife (assigned weapon, to Marceline Carlson), folding spetum (from Marceline Carlson, to Blaise d'Aramitz)

Allies: Ariana Moretti, Emeka Gibson, Rhonda Lawson, Marceline Carlson

Enemies: Blaise d'Aramitz

Mid-game Evaluation: 

Post-Game Evaluation: 

Memorable Quotes:

Threads
Below are a list of threads containing Dolores, in chronological order:

The Past: V7 Pregame: Prom: The Trip: V7:
 * Moonstruck
 * Queen of Hearts
 * The Old Ways
 * Meditation and Premeditation
 * Prometheus Rising
 * The Lovers Arcana
 * Room 808: Low On The High End
 * Miserere
 * And I saw, from eyes that were not mine. And I felt, with a fear I could not reason.
 * Two Hearts
 * "...we must try until it kills us."
 * Darkness, Beloved

Your Thoughts
''Whether you were a fellow handler in SOTF or just an avid reader of the site, we'd like to know what you thought about Dolores Upton. What did you like, or dislike, about the character? Let us know here!''
 * Dolly pulls together a handful of disparate plots and groups, serving as something of a nexus for the occult brigade, the outsider drama association, and Marceline. This casts her in an interesting light, especially because how she acts definitely varies with whatever sphere she inhabits at any given time. Personally, I tended to find myself most intrigued by her largely-skeptical presence within the witch crew; the dynamic of someone who plays along without actually believing is a fun one.

This may, of course, in part also be retrospective bias, because Dolly has some really especially great beats with Violet Schmidt, one of the members of that subculture. In fact, thinking about it, I would say that Dolly's island story is also of three matching parts. First, there's the search for Marceline. The actual hunt itself has some nice moments, especially as the girls reunite in part because they know each other well enough to guess where they'll head, which is a great way to justify things rather than falling back on weak coincidence. There are, however, some tangles in that the search party is densely-populated to a degree that bogs down scenes at a couple points, and nobody's quite sure what the goal is once Marceline is recovered. This pivots into the aforementioned Violet encounter, which is wisely kept a smaller affair, with many of the others in the group off-screen. This is where Dolly truly shines, as she and Violet have a tense conversation that feels significant and dangerous and touches on very serious issues regarding a friend at home but which does not actually bubble over into any real direct threat.

Unfortunately, Dolly also got rolled around this time, and her final leg feels the most hurried. She meets her fate at the hands of Blaise, but not before giving Marceline instructions on what to do should she die. That conversation hits some good character moments for both, but I really really wish it had been slipped in somewhere a little earlier, so it wasn't such a direct lead-in to Dolly's actual death. And, speaking of, while the physical beats are nice and the core brutality has a suitably crushing effect on Marceline, I didn't feel like the chemistry between killer and victim quite landed right. Part of this is that a lot of it hinges on a relationship that is not actually established or detailed beyond some cursory examination in a single Pregame thread, yet upon which hangs the core of Dolly's hopes to see Lorenzo brought to justice. The pieces are there in theory, but have been hurried into place or summed up to such an extent that there's some tonal disparity; it feels like an arbitrary, "tough luck, kid," death is getting an edit befitting the culmination of a tangled, long-running plot, and honestly I think things would've been a whole lot smoother if instead the death truly had been more some sudden impersonal thing, or maybe had some or all of its beats moved to the Violet encounter, which spent a lot more time on the matter.

On the whole, I think Dolly never quite managed to be a character in the spotlight, but she brought very nice flavor to a bunch of groups, had a strong attitude and vibe, and fulfilled some very important roles in support of characters who long outlived her, both her girlfriend and someone else. She cast a long shadow, and at the time of writing her legacy is still shaping the game, and that's pretty cool. - MurderWeasel